Sunday, 25 September 2011

Sofa so good

Right, as ever, no point in rehashing a match you almost certainly all saw, so, instead, a few points of 'interest'.

1) The right way to win

Not right as in perfect, or even hugely impressive, but just what we needed: a good result with built-in reminders and warnings, perfect ahead of next Sunday.

If we'd spent a full four halves playing like world-beaters, we might have started expecting to win. Arsenal beating Bolton might not be a bad thing, either. If they hadn't they would surely have found some passion from somewhere and torn into us.

As it is, they've probably rediscovered their never-far-from-the-surface feeling of superiority (historically down to them being superior), while we've been reminded that we're not the finished article; that we have to work fucking hard to play really fucking well.

Three points and a reality check. Just right.

2) Benny bashing

The BAE mistake led to some Twitter lunacy. He got a bit of a caning from some - which in turn provoked passionate and expletive-riddled defence from others.

Such extremes took me by surprise. I'd say most Spurs fans rate him as one of their three or four favourite players at the club, but that most also shook their heads and muttered 'oh for fuck sake', when he dithered and dallied to give a goal away.

Surely it's possible to hold those two thoughts in your head at the same time without being considered crazy: he's been a great player for us - but that was shit; every defender makes mistakes, and quite often they result in goals - but that was shit; maybe, having not been well during the week, he either shouldn't have played or can be cut a bit of slack - but Jesus, that was shit.

The important thing, surely, is that no one has any qualms about him starting our next game, or any game. Everyone's totally behind him, still - he just made a silly mistake and probably got a bit of a bollocking. No drama.

3)A not too terrible Match of the Day joke

Match of the Day's awful these days, isn't it? I mean the core concept of showing the best bits from Saturday's games remains unbeatable.

But fuck me the BBC are doing their best to suck all the life and excitement out of it. Hansen and Lawrenson add precisely nothing. They deal exclusively in cliches. They even look bored: with each other, with themselves, with the show, with their ramblings and, quite reasonably, with Lineker.

There's nothing wrong with dissecting a few incidents and chatting about the game, but to what end? Presumably to tell people with less insight and experience something they might have missed.

My cat could enlighten me more than those two. My poor dead cat.

So why not just get rid? I don't mean replace them with younger models, I mean show the matches, maybe some highlights of interviews with the managers and players, if they say anything of interest, - and then just move on to the next match. I bet there wouldn't be many complaints.

Anyway, I was watching it on Saturday night and Tweeted, hilariously, that Hansen and Lawrenson are like cushions: they're always on the sofa, but no man can see the point of them.

And if you plunge a knife into them, feathers fly out. Although I'm not sure about that last bit.